1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a Bible bookmark and trivia game. More specifically, the present invention is a bookmark which includes sliding indicators showing a specific chapter and verse of a book within the Bible, and a pocket at the rear of the bookmark for displaying a Bible trivia question/answer card.
2. Description of Related Art
The related art of interest describes various bookmarks, but none discloses the present invention. There is a need for a Bible bookmark which reinforces the biblical passages in the form of a game. The relevant art will be discussed in the order of perceived relevance to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,772, issued to Carlton Gill on Sep. 2, 1986, describes a religious marker for recording verses, chapters and names of the books in the Old and New Testament. The marker device has a plate with two sections. One section has a plurality of rotatably mounted pointers and a circularly arranged numeral row. The other section uses pins slidably mounted within a pair of grooves having printed items.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,538, issued to Lloyd F. Kurschner on Feb. 11, 1986, describes a bookmark which includes a hook passing over the binding and preventing the bookmark from sliding completely between the pages. The bookmark has a plurality of referencing slits down its length and a plurality of cords for insertion into the referencing slits.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,948, issued to James B. Walsh on Jan. 21, 1992, describes a bookmark having an elongated slot with a slidably and rotatably mounted indicator moving within the slot. The indicator with an arrow points one direction on one side of the bookmark, and the other direction on the opposite side of the bookmark.
U.S. Pat. No. 139,936, issued to Henry M. Ward and George E. Dolton on Jun. 17, 1873, describes a book mark. The book mark has an elastic strap with a hook on either end, and at least one pointer slidably mounted on the elastic strap. U.S. Pat. No. 399,768, issued to Henrietta L. Mehrer on Mar. 19, 1889, describes a book mark as a plate having a pair of arms, with one arm fitting over a page, and the other arm fitting under it. A pointer is slidably and pivotally mounted to the arm fitting over the page.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,665, issued to Paul J. Carlin on Feb. 20, 1990, describes a bookmark having a slidable encircling member serving as a line marker.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,811, issued to Michael Miroyan on Jul. 5, 1994, describes a bookmark having a planar body and a slidably mounted indicator. The design of the indicator corresponds to whimsical design elements at the top and bottom of the indicator""s range of motion. A similar bookmark is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,240, issued to Mike Miroyan on Aug. 1, 1995.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,029, issued to Arrow Garnet on Aug. 22, 1995, describes a bookmark having a plate with an adhesive surface for attaching to the book""s binding. A plurality of marking straps extend from the plate with each marking strap having a slidable tab for marking a specific location on the page.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,409, issued to Willard H. White on May 21, 1996, describes a sliding digital bookmarker. The bookmarker has a base plate and an upper plate having at least 2 slots with a hole adjacent to each slot. A sliding member moves within each slot, having a raised rib protruding from the slot for grasping, and a sequence of numbers which are displayed through the holes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,459, issued to William Alden on Nov. 26, 1996, describes a bookmark having an encircling member slidably mounted to the body of the bookmark. The body of the bookmark specifies the odd or even numbered page, and the last paragraph read. The encircling member is positioned so that its circular front opening shows the last paragraph read.
U.K. Patent Application No. 446,849, published on May 7, 1936, for Alice Winnard describes a marker for an instruction sheet. The marker is a plate having a central tongue detached along three sides and attached along the fourth side, for gripping the sheet between the central tongue and the rest of the plate. A disk is rotatably attached to the marker, and includes numbers for indicating the number of times a given step has been repeated.
U.K. Patent Application No. 612,875, published on Nov. 18, 1948, for Fanny Marx describes a bookmark. The bookmark is a strip of metal having a pair of slots, and at least one sliding member encircling the strip of metal. The slots divide the bookmark into thinner strips, fitting on either side of the page, and the encircling member slides towards the paper to secure the bookmark in place.
Swiss Patent Application No. 667,623 A5, published on Oct. 31, 1988, Susan Bubenik describes a bookmark having slots on each side for retaining sliding members indicating the desired location on the page, and a slot on the bottom for retaining another sliding member indicating either the left or right side page.
U.K. Patent Application No. 2,222,387 A, published on Mar. 7, 1990, for Leslie J. Redelinghuys describes a combination bookmark/business card. The bookmark has a sliding indicator along a short side indicating either the left or right side page, and a sliding indicator along a long side indicating the paragraph number.
Several other trivia games have been proposed by other inventors. However, no other inventor within the knowledge of the present inventor has proposed a trivia game apparatus which also serves as a bookmark.
One example of a game is U.S. Pat. No. 1,272,553, issued to Frank D. Spotswood on Jul. 16, 1918, describes a game device. The game device includes a question card, and an answer disk rotatably mounted to the question card.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,327,019, issued to Coozie Britton on Jan. 6, 1920, describes educational playing cards. Each playing card is divided into three sections on one face, and four sections on the other face, and contains indicia for playing several different games.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,600,108, issued to Alfred Gell on Sep. 14, 1926, describes a card game. The game is intended to teach spelling as well as the names of various animals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,848, issued to Hugh P. Maguire and Helen A. Maguire on Aug. 26, 1986, describes a word game. Players attempt to guess a concealed word based on randomly selected definitional and phonetic clues.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,939, issued to Henry Makow on Jun. 13, 1987, describes a question and answer card game. Each player has several question cards and one answer card. The goal is to ask a question to another player whose answer will match the answer on the questioner""s answer card.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,709, issued to Kevin P. Peterson on Jun. 19, 1990, describes a memory game apparatus. The game apparatus includes a game board having paths in the form of concentric rings, and cards with pictorial memorization aides. Correctly identifying the information conveyed by the pictures on the cards allows a player to move forward on the board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,535, issued to Adolph Roberts on Oct. 6, 1992, describes a bible quiz game. The game includes a board having four easy paths and four difficult paths. Correctly answering questions allows a player to move forward along the paths.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,160, issued to Arthur J. Stevens and Linda T. Stevens on Mar. 4, 1997, describes a religious three talent boardgame wherein players move around a triangular board based on the Trinity and answer questions, draw a picture, or act out a word.
U.K. Patent Application No. 2,274,597 A, published on Aug. 3, 1994, for Alan Maxwell describes a game apparatus. The game apparatus includes a game board having a playing track, player representation markers, question cards, dice, and scoring tokens. xe2x80x9cSpotlight TRIVIA GAMES SPAWN SECOND GENERATIONxe2x80x9d, Playthings, May 5, 1985, pp. 76-79, gives brief descriptions of numerous trivia board games.
None of the above patents and publication describes a combination of a bookmark with a trivia game. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is a combination bookmark and trivia game. The bookmark includes sliding arrows for indicating the exact location on the page where the reader stopped reading, for example, the last chapter and verse read in the Bible. The rear of the bookmark includes a transparent pocket having several possible uses. Preferred contents of the transparent pocket include a trivia question card, a prayer list, and/or a photograph of a prayer partner.
The front of the bookmark has at least one, and preferably two, arrow-shaped indicators. The arrow-shaped indicators are slidably mounted on the bookmark, secured between the bookmark""s rear panel and a pair of front panels. The arrow points towards the first front panel, which includes a series of printed numeral indicia corresponding to each arrow-shaped indicator. The second front panel may contain a description of the corresponding numerical indicia. For example, if two arrow indicators and two sets of numerical indicia are used, the top set of numerical indicia may be designated for use as a Bible chapter indicator, and the bottom set may be designated as a Bible verse indicator. By sliding the top arrow to point towards the chapter currently being read, sliding the bottom arrow to point towards the last verse read, and inserting the bookmark into the correct page in the bible, the reader can mark the exact location where reading was stopped. When the reader begins reading in the future, no time will be wasted reading previously read material.
In one preferred embodiment, the arrow indicators are mounted on bases, with the bases between the front and rear panels, and the arrow indicators outside the front panel. In a further refinement of this embodiment, the tips of the arrow indicators are transparent. The transparent tips may be configured to magnify the numerical indicia, facilitating reading the selected numbers.
The back of the bookmark may include any of several different features. For example, it may contain an advertisement for the organization distributing the bookmark. Alternatively, it may also be used as a trivia game. The back of a bookmark used as a trivia game includes a transparent pocket for containing a trivia question card. The card includes a printed Bible verse on its front side, and its location in the Bible, by book, chapter, and verse, on the back side. When the card is inserted into the pocket, the text of the verse is visible through the transparent cover, but the location is concealed. The players guess the location of the verse by sliding the arrow indicators to the chapter and verse they believe to be correct. They take turns guessing until the correct location is guessed. The players then insert a new trivia question card and repeat the process. The players learn the Bible""s teachings, and their location in the bible, by playing the game.
An alternative trivia card includes both the Bible verse and its location on the front of the card. When the card is inserted in the transparent pocket, artwork on the pocket hides the location of the verse, revealing only the verse itself. The back of such a trivia card may contain a list of people to pray for and corresponding prayer requests, as a reminder for use during prayer.
An additional alternative back panel includes a smaller transparent pocket, dimensioned and configured to receive a photograph of a prayer partner. A common Christian practice is the formation of small prayer groups which pray together and for each other when the members are apart.
The bookmark""s front and back panels may include several different decorative features, including gem stones, gold chains around the edges, biblical motifs such as angels or crosses, Victorian motifs, and encouraging text.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a bookmark showing the exact location on a page where the reader stopped reading, thereby avoiding the necessity to search for this location when reading is resumed.
It is another object of the invention to provide a bookmark showing the exact chapter and verse where the reader stopped reading the Bible.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a trivia game.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a Bible study tool.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.